Garage Sale
Garage Sale is the eighth story of the first volume of Adventures on Rails. Plot Tidmouth is a very busy station as it is the headquarters of the North Western Railway. Many trains depart daily heading towards Vicarstown or the Little Western. One day, Henry brought in a goods train. He brought the train into the Yard, was uncoupled, and went away to rest. Duck took some of the trucks on towards Arlesburgh. "The rest are to go to the station," explained the Foreman. "What are they?" asked Jessie. "You'll see," replied her Driver. Once at the platform, workmen unloaded the trucks. "Lots of great stuff here," chatted the workmen. "Books, clothes, electronics, and all at great prices." Just then, the Fat Controller came out of his office. "Ah! All the stuff has arrived," he observed. "Yes, this is all, uh, stuff," replied Jessie, awkwardly. "What is all this about?" "Well, as this station is usually very busy I thought it'd be a good idea to hold a garage sale here on Saturday." "I guess you could say, 'station' sale," murmured Jessie. "Albeit we're not selling the actual station," she chuckled. The Fat Controller chuckled. "Of course not. Anyways, all this is stuff that has been used but could be of better use to other people. We've asked everyone, crew and staff included, to feel free to donate anything." "I'm sure Driver could use a new tie perhaps," added Jessie. "Maybe so," chuckled the Driver. "And where will all the money collected being going towards." "Excellent question," replied the Fat Controller. "It will actually be used to carry out any renovations needed right here. New PA system perhaps, more seats, more café options." "That sounds nice. I hope it's a success then." Saturday came and workmen came early to help set out tables, organise, and display everything that had been donated. Jessie arrived as the workmen were finishing. "Looks like a lot of great things," she observed. Just then, Pip and Emma arrived, ready for their journey to London. "What is all this?" inquired Emma. "It's a garage sale," explained Jessie. Quite soon, the station was filled with passengers. They all perused the many items available and also purchased various items. "I have been looking for a copy of My Fair Lady for a while," commented a woman. "I think she's got it," said Jessie. "How do you do?" "Fine, thank you," the woman replied. "I'm also hoping to find a calculator." "Nice. But do this: two-thousand and nineteen minus nineteen thirty-seven." "Eighty-two." "Impressive. Why do you need a calculator?" "More complex math." "Very well then." A workman came up. "Calculators are right over there, ma'am." "Thank you." It was nearly time for Pip and Emma to leave and the station was still crowded. "I hope people don't miss their trains," said Emma. "I'm sure they won't," assurred Jessie. "Now, I must fetch the coaches for the next train." Presently, it was time and the Guard was waiting with his flag in hand. The Driver was having difficulty seeing the Guard. Masses of people stood around the tables, all looking for something. It was quite noisy too: people chatted with each other and on their phones. Suddenly, the Driver thought she saw the green flag wave. She waited for the whistle but couldn't hear it. "Perhaps someone waved up a piece of green clothing," suggested Emma. "I don't doubt that," replied the Driver. Meanwhile, the Guard checked his watch and realised it was time. He blew the whistle, waved his green flag and jumped into the coach. But the Driver didn't see the flag or hear the whistle. A minute passed, and the Guard was worried. "Did she not hear it?" he wondered. He went outside and immediately understood. Luckily, Pip and Emma are fitted with a radio which allows the passengers or Guard to contact the cab from any carriage. "We're clear to go," called the Guard through the radio. The Driver heard this and understood. "Thank goodness," she sighed. Pip and Emma rolled smoothly away from the station and on their long journey to London. Jessie brought in some more coaches just as the Express left. She was uncoupled and stopped to rest. The woman she had seen earlier, (whose name was Brenda), was standing nearby. "Hullo again. Found your calculator?" "Indeed! Only two pounds." "That's great." "Also, did you see the miscommunication?" "What do you mean?" She explained what had happened with the Express. "It's so noisy, I can hardly hear myself," agreed Jessie. Her Driver went to tell the Fat Controller. Soon, everything had been arranged: the Guard would phone the Driver when the train was due to leave ensuring the Driver that the Guard was indeed blowing the whistle and waving the green flag. Presently, James came backing into the station. "Big Station Garage Sale," he observed. "So much fuss about second-hand objects." "Says a one-hundred and seven year-old engine," laughed Jessie. "Well yes, I'm old, but still very reliable and splendid," retorted James. "Well, those ties can still be of good use for someone else." "Like my brother!" laughed Brenda. "Anyways, I have to go now. But, I want to show you something else I bought . . ." She pulled out of a bag, a model Flying Scotsman. "Supposedly works well. Perfect for my model railway." "Great to see people are still into modelling," commented Jessie. "Especially with today's ridiculous prices. Anyways, it looks fantastic. Gordon would be jealous." "Bye then!" and she boarded the train. "You make friends with just about anyone, don't you?" said James. "I did spend fifteen years with only people to talk to." "You make it look so easy." "There's more to about that just your class and speed," she chuckled then hurried off to the Yard for some shunting. Later, she brought more coaches into the station. Then, Douglas arrived. "Aye, lots of activity," he observed. "Indeed. Like look at that flag display. So many countries. Spain, Portugal, Wales . . ." "And Scotland, of course." "I say, got any spare change?" asked Douglas's Driver. "Why?" The Driver went over to the table and returned with two flags. One was Wales's flag, which was given to Jessie and Douglas kept the Scotland flag. "Thank you very much," smiled Jessie. "Any time," replied Douglas's Driver. "I've no doubt about it," said Jessie, after Douglas's train had left, "all these items are of use to someone else." It was now the end of the day, and the crowd was winding down. "What a busy day it's been," sighed Jessie. "Indeed. More people than ever were here today," agreed her Driver. The Fat Controller came up. "Well, seems like a good time to wrap it up," he called to the workmen. "Good job today." Then he saw Jessie. "Ah, glad you're here. Can you fetch some trucks to store all the tables and unsold items from the Yard." "I'm on it!" She returned quite soon. "Now, I don't know how much we raised, but the turn out was very impressive." "Indeed. As if the station wasn't already busy enough!" In no time at all, Jessie's trucks were loaded. "David will collect them tomorrow with his pick-up goods," explained the Fat Controller. "Got it!" "And I heard that you made friends with a young woman." "Oh, yes." "Very impressive." "It's no problem, really. Glad to be useful." "Good job. Just make sure everything is all right in the Yard, then get some rest. Good night." "Good night, Sir." So, Jessie took the trucks over to the Yard, then went to sleep, well content with her day's work. Characters *James *Douglas *Jessie *Pip and Emma *Sir Topham Hatt *Henry (does not speak) *Duck (does not speak) *Gordon (mentioned) *David (mentioned) *Flying Scotsman (mentioned) Trivia *The concept for this episode was devised after a viewing of the Mr. Perkins Engine Driver Segment, Mr. Perkins's Jumble Sale. The title is derived from the seventh season episode of the same name from the US version of The Office. *The episode takes place entirely at Tidmouth. *The 1964 musical film, My Fair Lady is referenced by Jessie and Brenda. Category:Adventures on Rails Category:Episodes